J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) provided constructive commentary on intermodal and truckload (TL) fundamentals during a presentation at the Cowen and Company 12th Annual Global Transportation Conference. The outlook from the surface transportation services giant at the intra-third quarter event was notably better than the concern around the lack of an uptick in seasonal demand that many carriers expressed at multiple investor conferences in May and June. Executive Vice President of Intermodal Services Darren Field and Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations Brad Delco were on hand to answer questions about the company and the industry.

Intermodal volumes through July have been volatile on a month-over-month basis, but settled at levels where it started the year, according to the trade group Intermodal Association of North America (IANA). Trans-pacific volumes into the U.S. spiked at the end of 2018 as consignees pulled forward inventories ahead of tariffs on Chinese imports that were scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

When truckload and logistics giant Schneider National Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDR) acquired less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload carrier Watkins & Shepard Trucking Inc. and final-mile and IT provider Lodeso Inc. in June 2016, it envisioned penetrating the business-to-consumer e-commerce category with a holistic, "first-to-final-mile" shipping service for furniture and carpeting orders. The vision died August 1 when Schneider said it would immediately halt the unit's operations due to what the company called results that were "significantly below expectations." The unit struggled mightily despite ongoing investments, the most recent being in mid-April when Schneider added middle-mile capabilities to connect the network's multiple terminals. Schneider said it would do its best to accommodate shipments already in the pipeline.

While fellow truckload carrier J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) has been expanding its last-mile delivery business, Schneider National (NYSE: SNDR) is going in the opposite direction. The announcement was made in a Securities and Exchange Commission 8-K filing in conjunction with the release of the company's second quarter earnings results.

The pilot, announced on July 25, will use robovans from Palo Alto-based Gatik to move groceries from a Walmart distribution center in Rogers, Arkansas, to one of its retail stores in nearby Bentonville. Three Ford vans outfitted with Gatik's self-driving system – and a safety driver – vehicles will travel the route seven days a week. Walmart will use the project to learn more about how autonomous-vehicle technology can be best utilized to benefit stores and services, Tom Ward, Walmart senior vice president, digital operations, wrote in a blog post.